10 killed, 14 wounded by Indian shelling in AJK

After a daylong lull, Indian troops resumed heavy shelling on Wednesday, leaving at least 10 people dead and another 14 wounded in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, according to initial reports.

“Indian troops hit a passenger coaster with small and big arms in the town of Lawat, killing nine passengers and injuring eleven others,” said Jamil Mir, superintendent of police (SP) in Neelum Valley.

Lawat is located some 90 kilometres northeast of here in the upper belt of valley that straddles the restive Line of Control (LoC).

The coaster was on its way to Muzaffarabad.

“Four bodies and all 11 injured persons have arrived in District Headquarters Hospital Athmuqam, but five bodies are still in the coaster,” SP Mir said.

He said shelling in Neelum valley had begun at about 3:00am, but intensified in the morning. Officials from other areas had similar stories.

“Shelling in my area has started at about 8:40 am, and it has been indiscriminate,” said Sardar Zeeshan Nisar, assistant commissioner of Nakyal, in the southern Kotli district.

“So far, four injured persons have been brought to a health facility, but I am afraid there may be more casualties, as shelling is ongoing,” he said. One of them succumbed to their injuries, the assistant commissioner said.

Tatta Pani sector of district Kotli was also receiving shells, but so far there was no report of casualties there.

Locals in Battal, Madarpur sectors of district Poonch said their areas were also hit by heavy shelling.

“There were unconfirmed reports about some people having been injured, but we are awaiting confirmation,” a police official told Dawn from Madarpur.

Military sources said that Pakistan army was serving “knee-jerk” response to Indian shelling.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement confirmed that Pakistani and Indian troops had exchanged fire across the LoC on Wednesday.

“Indian troops targeted a civilian bus near the LoC in Neelum Valley,” the ISPR said, adding that four people were killed and seven injured when the bus was near Dhudnial.

Indian forces were targeting the civilian population, ISPR said. “An intense exchange of fire is ongoing as Pakistani troops target Indian posts.”

Indian army on Tuesday claimed three of its soldiers were killed along the LoC and threatened Pakistani forces of retribution.

The army also claimed that the body of one of the dead soldiers had been “mutilated.”

The Foreign Office however rejected the claim, saying that the “reports are a fabrication and a blatant attempt to malign Pakistan”.
Cross-border firing a new normal

Tensions between Pakistan and India have been running high following an alleged ‘surgical strike’, unrest in Kashmir and the Uri army base attack in September.

Since then there have been repeated outbreaks of cross-border firing in Kashmir, with both sides reporting deaths and injuries including of civilians.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stepped up a drive to isolate Pakistan diplomatically after the Uri army base attack in which 19 Indian soldiers were killed. Hours after the attack occurred, Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh termed Pakistan a ‘terrorist state’ and accused Pakistan of involvement.

The Uri attack occurred days before Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was set to address the United Nations General Assembly regarding Indian human rights violations in held Kashmir.

Following the attack, India claimed it had conducted a cross-border ‘surgical strike’ against ‘launch pads of terror’ in Azad Jammu and Kashmir — a claim Pakistan has strongly rejected.

Pakistan maintains that India is attempting to divert the world’s attention away from atrocities committed by government forces in India-held Kashmir.

Pakistan and India have, most recently, locked horns over Kashmir since Indian forces stepped up a crackdown against protesters after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed by government forces in July.